> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.turingdb.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Load a CSV file

> Stream rows from a CSV file in a query with LOAD CSV

`LOAD CSV` streams the rows of a CSV file into a query. Unlike `LOAD JSONL` / `LOAD GML` (which build a whole graph from a file), `LOAD CSV` is a **reading statement** that yields one row at a time, bound to a variable you can reference in `RETURN`, `MATCH`, or `CREATE`.

The file must live in the `data` subdirectory of the TuringDB working directory (set by `-turing-dir`, default `$HOME/.turing`).

## Syntax

```
LOAD CSV "<file>" [WITH HEADERS] [ON ERROR SKIP | ON ERROR FAIL] AS <row>
```

| Clause          | Description                                                                                                                                 |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `WITH HEADERS`  | Treat the first line as column names; access columns as `row.<name>`. Without it, access columns by **0-based index** `row[0]`, `row[1]`, … |
| `ON ERROR SKIP` | Skip malformed rows                                                                                                                         |
| `ON ERROR FAIL` | Abort on the first malformed row (the default)                                                                                              |
| `AS <row>`      | Variable bound to each row                                                                                                                  |

All values come back as **strings** — wrap them in `toInteger(...)` / `toFloat(...)` if you need numbers.

## With headers

```jsx theme={null}
LOAD CSV "people.csv" WITH HEADERS AS row
RETURN row.name AS name, row.age AS age, row.city AS city
```

## Without headers (index access)

```jsx theme={null}
LOAD CSV "people.csv" AS row
RETURN row[0] AS name, row[1] AS age
LIMIT 5
```

## Building a graph from CSV

Because `LOAD CSV` yields rows, you can drive `CREATE` from it inside a change:

```python theme={null}
change = client.new_change()
client.checkout(change=change)
client.query('LOAD CSV "people.csv" WITH HEADERS AS row CREATE (:Person {name: row.name, age: toInteger(row.age)})')
client.query("COMMIT")
client.query("CHANGE SUBMIT")
client.checkout()
```

<Note>
  `LOAD CSV` followed by `MATCH` in the same read statement is not yet supported.
</Note>